There are lots of terms out there that all refer to the same basic idea: aligning your investment dollars with your values. It has often been called Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) and sometimes, Impact Investing. A key strategy of values-based, sustainable and responsible investing is incorporating environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) criteria into investment decisions.
Read MoreIf you were born in the 80s or earlier, you are probably very familiar with the USDA food pyramid, which is supposed to guide us all on how to eat in a nutritionally sound way for maximum health. Well, we can now see an Investment Pyramid (notably, NOT put out by the USDA) that can provide some structure around how to invest in a sound way and maximize your wealth over time.
Read MoreSome of you may remember the book by Thomas Stanley and William Danko called “The Millionaire Next Door”. It was released in 1996 and quickly became a New York Times Bestseller. I was newly married at the time and already had a strong interest in personal finance topics thanks to my dad. I read the book and it had a big impact on my life. And if you liked the book back then, I've got great news! They just released the next iteration of the book, called The Next Millionaire Next Door.
Read MoreA common theme I discuss with my clients is the fact that there's a lot more to financial planning and investing than just picking the right investments. Further, investing itself is not even primarily based on the study of finance. More than anything, investing is about how people behave with money. And guess what? It turns out that teaching good investor behavior is really hard to do! It's not as simple as pointing to a few clever equations, memorizing a formula or building an Excel spreadsheet. It's not about what you know -- it's about your actions and behaviors.
Read MoreLast month I wrote a blog post about Brian Portnoy's book, The Geometry of Wealth. I got so much out of the book that today I want to dive in a little deeper to some of the topics he discusses.
The overall focus of the book is how to use your wealth to underwrite a meaningful life.
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Let's talk about your financial behavior and why it matters. When I work with clients, we focus on what you can control vs. what you can't control. You can't control what the markets will do this month, this year, or even tomorrow! Here's what you can control:
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